Options For Treating Smoke Inhalation

Medications

Medications for smoke inhalation focus on treating specific symptoms as they appear. Hydroxocobalamin reverses the potentially fatal effects of cyanide poisoning from the cyanide present in many kinds of fires. Some patients may experience spasms of the airways, making it difficult to breathe. Drugs known as bronchodilators help to relieve these spasms. Antibiotics may be used to prevent infection of the airway or facial burns, and they are also useful to treat or prevent pneumonia that can result from smoke inhalation. Methemoglobinemia, a condition in which the body's hemoglobin cannot deliver enough oxygenation, can be sometimes caused by smoke inhalation. It can be treated with methylene blue. Thiosulfate and sodium nitrite are alternative medications for cyanide toxicity. Nebulized heparin and N-acetylcysteine are two other drugs used to help clear the lungs of the harmful fibrin casts that cause inflammation in the lungs of smoke inhalation victims.